Torsion bars have been provided for assisting in raising rear trunk covers, referred to herein as "deck lids", to expose the trunk space of the vehicles with which the deck lids are associated. Typically, a torsion bar is oriented transversely in the trunk of the vehicle with which it is associated, with an end of the torsion bar being affixed to the body of the vehicle and with the torsion bar being configured so as to cause it to urge upwardly against the deck lid hinge and thus the deck lid.
The above-referenced parent application to this application recognizes that, while effective in urging deck lids upwardly, some torsion bar lift assist systems do not facilitate maintaining a deck lid at intermediate positions between the fully closed and fully open positions when, for instance, the person lifting the deck lid releases the lid inadvertently, or when the person deliberately releases the lid to improve his or her purchase on the lid. Accordingly, a purpose of the invention disclosed in the parent application was to provide a deck lid lift assist system which temporarily holds a deck lid of a vehicle in a position between its fully open and fully closed positions when a person releases the deck lid.
The present invention recognizes a different problem, namely, that torsion bars used to assist the raising of deck lids that open to an almost vertical orientation from an almost horizontal closed position can provide insufficient upward force on the deck lid as the deck lid approaches the fully open (i.e., vertical) position. This is because such deck lids move through a relatively wide range of travel between the closed and open positions. Furthermore, the present invention recognizes that it is desirable to easily tailor the opening force provided by a deck lid torsion bar for the particular vehicle model.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a deck lid lift assist system that can urge a deck lid upwardly through a comparatively wide range of travel. Another object of the present invention is to provide a deck lid lift assist system which urges a deck lid of a vehicle toward an open position. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a deck lid lift assist system that is easy to use and cost-effective to manufacture.